MMO Fallout

Remembering the Classic: Everquest "Ancient Heroes"

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An MMO is unique in its own world in the sense that, despite what some people think, you truly do live in the world. Think back to titles you’ve played for years, and you’re bound to have nostalgic moments of times that are long past. Many of us longtime players expect the company to recognize their earlier game in some fashion. Jagex, for example, continued running the original Runescape, and continues looking for new ways to publicize the, albeit currently closed to all but a few, title to players who never experienced it.

In a recent update to Everquest, Sony Online Entertainment inserted an old man who will transform you into the classic Everquest experience: A level 50 with the normal gear of the time, before even the Ruins of Kunark expansion. The only alteration comes in the form of brand new drops.

Everquest has come a long way, possibly longer than any other MMO on the market (apart from maybe Star Wars Galaxies). Sixteen expansion packs later, and the Everquest of now is day and night to the Everquest of old. Everquest Underfoot launches on its newly delayed date in December. Everquest’s target demographic is their current and previous players, a fact they have begrudgingly admitted.

Now if only Sony would bring some pre-NGE Galaxy servers up.

Remembering the Classic: Everquest “Ancient Heroes”

tss22

Now if only Sony would bring some pre-NGE Galaxy servers up.

Direct 2 Drive: Good Stuff Cheap

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Been thinking about picking up that MMO title, but don’t want to run the risk that your initial investment will be a dud? Direct 2 Drive has the answer for you. As part of their 5th year anniversary, you can pick up a few select MMO titles for just $5 USD. This week (Running from the 20th to the 26th), the following titles are only $5 (USD)

For those of you not looking to pick up any new MMO titles, there is a plethora of old and new titles on sale for five dollars, with a new range of titles every week. If you’ve been holding off buying Eve, Age of Conan, or Planetside, you have until this Saturday ends to snatch up a copy and get your free month.

If you have five dollars handy, you can choose between one of these titles and a foot long Subway sandwich. In my discredited opinion, the MMO might last longer.

MMO Fallout: Now With Message Boards!

I said Khitain, not Kitten! — Or else the kitten gets it...

I’m proud to announce MMO Fallout now has its own message boards. Head over here, register an account, and join the discussion why don’t you? It’s quick and simple, and you don’t even need a credit card.

Aion: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

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Aion launches in four days, and the title, much like Champions Online did earlier this month and in August, is stealing much of the spotlight here at MMO Fallout. So much so that I’m putting together a new section for MMO Fallout: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly (Not that that particular mechanic has ever been done before). Since preselection began today, it’s one of the better times as any to get a good preview in.

Continue reading “Aion: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly”

Vogster: Already Laying Off?

Crimecraft launched on August 25th, and today being September 17th, that would make it not even a month after the title’s release. So it comes as a bit of a surprise to learn that Vogster Entertainment, the creative minds behind the lobby based, third person shooter title, has made some cutbacks to the development team. After some cooking today, the story originally appearing as a rumor that Vogster had shut down completely, the story was clarified to reveal that only the Chicago studio closed, with significant cuts elsewhere.

“We regret the necessary staffing changes and the talented employees that this impacts, but it is an unavoidable step in moving to the operational stage of CrimeCraft and optimizing for the development of yet to be announced titles.”

Now is a good time to point out that, although layoffs are never a good sign for a company, such a move for a small company isn’t exactly uncommon. If history is any sign of the future, the layoffs involve primarily a group who were hired temporarily, for the purpose of being the development team, rather than part of the launch team who will go on to maintain the game post-launch.

That being said, players of Crimecraft wouldn’t have much to worry about, even in a worst case scenario. MMOs succeed, and MMOs barely scrape by, but they rarely shut down until they are no longer profitable. Crimecraft, with its instance format, is on the lower end of the spectrum of upkeep, aside from content development, when compared to the upkeep that, for example, Eve Online’s one shard requires to keep running. As many cutbacks that Vogster might do in the future, it is likely that Crimecraft will be profitable for a long time to come.

Aion: Still Gaining Momentum

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A couple days ago I talked about retention rate being more important than simply the number of people who preorder an MMO. The fact that Aion has brought over three hundred thousand preorders means nothing if you can’t keep those people playing after their initial month of free game time is up. Aion’s success will not be decided by the number of people who buy the boxed copies, but in the long run, where subscriber numbers mean everything.

I will admit I’ve taken a look at Aion with a little more skepticism than the title deserves, even though everything I have said is true. Success in the Eastern market means nothing when referring to how the West will respond to the game, and attempting to gauge the success of the game based off of forum hype will produce equally inaccurate results.

So here I notice that, in the past few days since Aion announced that three hundred thousand copies were preordered, today comes another announcement: The number has hit four hundred thousand, bringing the title to be the most preordered MMO of 2009. This news comes in conjunction with news that will directly please the company: Aion will not ship with Game Guard, the controversial anti-cheat software. While Game Guard may be used in the future, NCsoft has promised that should the software return, it will be tweaked in response to criticism.

In finding discussion-worthy topics for MMO Fallout, I do a lot of traversing over various forums, and I can say without a doubt that the lack of Game Guard will be well received within the community. If NCSoft can prove, using methods such as this, that they are indeed listening to the community, they will have a major edge over critics in the long run. For those who are unfamiliar, Game Guard is widely panned for inefficiency, and false positives.

Nothing but good news for Aion this week. Aion goes live on September 22nd, with preorders gaining early access.

Dungeon Runners to Shut Down

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If Dungeon Runners could be compared to any game on the market, you could probably stick it as World of Warcraft with a mix of Diablo, where players actively click to make their characters attack. Players do their trading and grouping in public hubs, and then go off to raid various dungeons of varying level, with varying groups of varying mobs. Where Dungeon Runners truly shined was in the slapstick humor and parody nature of the title. New characters are greeted by the Noobosaur, PvP is done in a town called Pwnston, and weapons and armor have exaggerated and outlandish titles (If I remember, there are mentions of seal clubbing in several weapons). The game runs on a freemium model, where players can pay a membership for benefits such as better drops.

So in a move that surprises no one, the announcement came yesterday that the title will be shutting down on New Years Eve this year, at midnight. Dungeon Runners fell to the same hurdle that brought down The Matrix Online, Tabula Rasa, and more; The game was simply not profitable anymore. The team that currently runs Dungeon Runners numbers at three, and isn’t up to the task of taking on the ridiculously expensive and risky steps that may, or may not, have saved the title.

But, those of you who are familiar with NCsoft’s method of shutting down titles will know that subscribers will not be going away without some compensation packages. Current subscribers will receive free copies of City of Heroes and Guild Wars Prophecies, as well as 30 day time cards for each. It isn’t Dungeon Runners, but in the words of Producer Steve Nichols; “it’s still frigging nice!”

Dungeon Runners marks the second title NCsoft will be closing down as 2009 progresses. If you’d like to enjoy Dungeon Runners while it lasts, you have about three months, during which the exp has been raised, drops are heightened, and there will undoubtedly be players giving their last goodbyes.

Bringing Back The Classics: Runescape

banner_runescape Many of you might not be aware of this gem, but the current incarnation of Runescape is technically Runescape 2, the original now dubbed Runescape Classic. Runescape Classic has not been updated since 2004, when its prettier, more functional little brother stepped off the cart, took its name, and shoved it into the closet. Going further along the timeline, in January 2006 Runescape Classic was shut off from the public due to the game’s ancient engine, lack of real anti-cheat methods, and such. Jagex decided that it would be better to stop new accounts from being created for the game, and anyone who was not a paying member, and active on the classic servers, was given a permanent ban from the two remaining classic servers. No new accounts.

Continue reading “Bringing Back The Classics: Runescape”

Star Wars Galaxies: Server Shutdowns

I’ve been criticized a few times for being somewhat harsh on Star Wars Galaxies, going as far as calling it a comatose title that Sony Online Entertainment continues to hold on life support, giving it regular changes of clothing and painting pupils on its eyelids so people think it still has some life in it. For several years now, players have reported that all but the most populated of servers are faced with legions of empty player owned villages, desolate cities, and much of the world virtually abandoned. Sony still supports the title with frequent updates, such as the upcoming deathtroopers, and were it not for Sony’s attempts to keep their titles profitable to the point where the only cost is the electricity to keep the servers running, the plug would have been pulled a long, long time ago.

So it comes as no surprise when Kotaku reported today that Sony is shutting down 12 Star Wars Galaxies servers on October 15th. The following servers will be shut down:

o Corbantis
o Europe-Infinity
o Intrepid
o Kauri
o Kettemoor
o Lowca
o Naritus
o Scylla
o Tarquinas
o Tempest
o Valcyn
o Wanderhome

Players have until 5:00pm PT on October 15th to vacate the servers before they are shut down for good. After the change, there will be 13 servers remaining, offering plenty of space for players to fight the zombie hoards in the upcoming content update. That’s right, I said zombies. In Star Wars. Zombie Wookie.

More on Star Wars Galaxies’ downward spiral as it turns up.

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